Collard (plant)

  (Redirected from Collard greens)

Collard refers to certain loose-leafed cultivars of Brassica oleracea, the same species as many common vegetables, including cabbage (Capitata Group) and broccoli (Botrytis Group). Collard is part of the Acephala Group of the species, which includes kale and spring greens. They are in the same cultivar group owing to their genetic similarity. The name "collard" comes from the word "colewort" (the wild cabbage plant).[1][2]

A bundle of collard greens
SpeciesBrassica oleracea
Cultivar groupAcephala Group
Cultivar group membersMany; see text.
Young collard plants growing in a container

The plants are grown for their large, dark-colored, edible leaves and as a garden ornamental, mainly in Brazil, Portugal, the southern United States, many parts of Africa, the Balkans, Italy, northern Spain, and Kashmir. Collard greens have been eaten for at least 2000 years, with evidence showing that the ancient Greeks cultivated several types of collard, as well as kale.[3]


The cultivar group name Acephala ("without a head" in Greek) refers to the fact that this variety of B. oleracea does not have the close-knit core of leaves (a "head") like cabbage does, making collards more tolerant of high humidity levels and less susceptible to fungal diseases.[4] The plant is a biennial where winter frost occurs; some varieties may be perennial in warmer regions. It has an upright stalk, often growing over two feet tall. The plant is very similar to kale. Popular cultivars of collard greens include 'Georgia Southern', 'Vates', 'Morris Heading', 'Blue Max', 'Top Bunch', 'Butter Collard' (couve manteiga), couve tronchuda, and Groninger Blauw. In Africa it is commonly known as Sukuma (East Africa), Muriwo or umBhida (Southern Africa).


A field of collard in Pennsylvania

The plant is commercially cultivated for its thick, slightly bitter, edible leaves. They are available year-round, but are tastier and more nutritious in the cold months, after the first frost.[5] For best texture, the leaves are picked before they reach their maximum size, at which stage they are thicker and are cooked differently from the new leaves. Age does not affect flavor. Flavor and texture also depend on the cultivar; the couve manteiga and couve tronchuda are especially appreciated in Brazil and Portugal.

Nutritional informationEdit

Collard greens, boiled
Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy137 kJ (33 kcal)
5.6 g
Sugars0.4 g
Dietary fiber4 g
2.7 g
VitaminsQuantity %DV
Vitamin A equiv.
380 μg
4513 μg
6197 μg
Thiamine (B1)
0.04 mg
Riboflavin (B2)
0.11 mg
Niacin (B3)
0.58 mg
Pantothenic acid (B5)
0.22 mg
Vitamin B6
0.13 mg
Folate (B9)
16 μg
Vitamin C
18 mg
Vitamin E
0.9 mg
Vitamin K
407 μg
MineralsQuantity %DV
141 mg
1.13 mg
21 mg
0.51 mg
32 mg
117 mg
15 mg
0.23 mg
Other constituentsQuantity
Water90.2 g

Percentages are roughly approximated using US recommendations for adults.
Source: USDA Nutrient Database


Culinary useEdit

East AfricaEdit

Collard greens are known as sukuma in Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda. Sukuma is mainly lightly sauteed in oil until tender, flavoured with onions and seasoned with salt, and served either as the main accompaniment or as a side dish with the preferred meat (fish, chicken, beef, or pork). In Congo, Tanzania and Kenya (East Africa), thinly sliced collard greens are the main accompaniments of a popular dish known as sima or ugali (a maize flour cake).

Southern and Eastern EuropeEdit

Collards have been cultivated in Europe for thousands of years with references to the Greeks and Romans back to the 1st Century.[6] In Montenegro, Dalmatia and Herzegovina, collard greens, locally known as raštika or raštan, were traditionally one of the staple vegetables. It is particularly popular in the winter, stewed with smoked mutton (kaštradina) or cured pork, root vegetables and potatoes.[7] Known in Turkey as kara lahana ("dark cabbage"), it is a staple in the Black Sea area.

Southern United StatesEdit

Collard greens are a staple vegetable in Southern U.S. cuisine.[8][9] They are often prepared with other similar green leaf vegetables, such as spinach, kale, turnip greens, and mustard greens in the dish called "mixed greens". Typically used in combination with collard greens are smoked and salted meats (ham hocks, smoked turkey drumsticks, smoked turkey necks, pork neckbones, fatback or other fatty meat), diced onions, vinegar, salt, and black pepper, white pepper, or crushed red pepper, and some cooks add a small amount of sugar. Traditionally, collards are eaten on New Year's Day, along with black-eyed peas or field peas and cornbread, to ensure wealth in the coming year.[8] Cornbread is used to soak up the "pot liquor", a nutrient-rich collard broth. Collard greens may also be thinly sliced and fermented to make a collard sauerkraut that is often cooked with flat dumplings.


In Zimbabwe, collard greens are known as mbida in Ndebele and muriwo in Shona. Due to the climate, mbida/muriwo thrives under almost all conditions, with most people growing it in their gardens. It is commonly eaten with Sadza (ugali in West & East Africa, pap in South Africa and polenta in Italy) as part of the staple food.[10] Mbida/Muriwo is normally wilted in boiling water before being fried and combined with sautéd onions and/or tomato. Some (more traditionally, the Shona people) add beef, pork and other meat to the mbida mix for a type of stew.[11] Most people eat mbida on a regular basis in Zimbabwe as it is economical and as previously mentioned, can be grown with little to no effort in one's own garden. Mubida/Muriwo is so common there one of the country's top musicians Jah Prayzah did a song on the meal [12]

Brazil and PortugalEdit

Caldo verde, a popular Portuguese soup made with collard greens

In Portuguese and Brazilian cuisine, collard greens (or couve) are a common accompaniment to fish and meat dishes. They make up a standard side dish for feijoada, a popular pork and beans-style stew.[13]

Thinly-sliced collard greens are also a main part of the popular Portuguese soup, caldo verde ("green broth"). For this broth, the leaves are sliced into strips, 2–3 millimetres (0.079–0.118 in) wide (sometimes by a grocer or market vendor using a special hand-cranked slicer) and added to the other ingredients 15 minutes before it is served.


In the Kashmir Valley,[14][unreliable source?][15] collard greens (haakh) are included in most meals.[16] Leaves are harvested by pinching in early spring when the dormant buds sprout and give out tender leaves known as kaanyil haakh. When the extending stem bears alternate leaves in quick succession during the growing season, older leaves are harvested periodically. In late autumn, the apical portion of the stem is removed along with the whorled leaves. There are several dishes made with haakh. A common dish eaten with rice is haak rus, a soup of whole collard leaves cooked simply with water, oil, salt, green chilies and spices.


The sting nematode Belonolaimus gracilis and the awl nematode, Dolichodorus spp. are both ectoparasites that can injure collard. Root symptoms include, stubby or coarse roots that are dark at the tips. Shoot symptoms include, stunted growth, premature wilting and chlorosis (Nguyen and Smart, 1975). Another species of the sting worm, Belonolaimus longicaudatus is a pest of collards in Georgia and North Carolina (Robbins and Barker, 1973). B. longicaudatus is devastating to seedlings and transplants. As few as three nematodes per 100g of soil when transplanting can cause significant yield losses on susceptible plants. They are most common in sandy soils (Noling, 2012).

The stubby root nematodes Trichodorus and Paratrichodorus attach and feed near the tip of collard's taproots. The damage caused prevents proper root elongation leading to tight mats that could appear swollen, therefore resulting in a "stubby root" (Noling, 2012).

Several species of the root knot nematode Meloidogyne spp. infest collards. These include: M. javanica, M. incognita and M. arenaria. Second-stage juveniles attack the plant and settle in the roots. However, infestation seems to occur at lower populations compared to other cruciferous plants. Root symptoms include deformation (galls) and injury that prevent proper water and nutrient uptake. This could eventually lead to stunting, wilting and chlorosis of the shoots (Crow and Dunn, 2012).

The false root knot nematode Nacobbus aberrans has a wide host range of up to 84 species including many weeds. On Brassicas it has been reported in several states, including Nebraska, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, Montana, South Dakota, and Kansas (Manzanilla- López et al., 2002). As a pest of collards, the degree of damage is dependent upon the nematode population in the soil.

See alsoEdit


  1. ^ "collard". Oxford English Dictionary (3rd ed.). Oxford University Press. September 2005. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  2. ^ "Greeks and Romans Grew Kale and Collards". Texas A&M Agricultural Extension. Retrieved 2018-04-02.
  3. ^ "Greeks and Romans Grew Kale and Collards | Archives | Aggie Horticulture". Retrieved 2012-07-26.
  4. ^ "Brassica oleracea var. acephala". Floridata. 2007-02-06. Retrieved 2012-07-26.
  5. ^ "Birney Imes: Amazing collards – The Dispatch". 2012-07-21. Retrieved 2012-07-26.
  6. ^ "Greeks and Romans Grew Kale and Collards". Aggie Horticulture. Texas A & M Agrilife Extension. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
  7. ^ Liliana Pavicic and Gordana Pirker-Mosher Best of Croatian Cooking, p. 137, at Google Books
  8. ^ a b Vitrano A (2011-01-01). "Dine wise on New Year's Day, Certain foods could bring you luck". South Carolina NOW. Archived from the original on 2013-02-01. Retrieved 2012-07-26.
  10. ^ "Food in Zimbabwe - Zimbabwean Food, Zimbabwean Cuisine - traditional, diet, history, common, meals, staple, rice, people, make".
  11. ^ "Pork Bones Haifiridzi". 21 May 2017.
  12. ^ "Sadza neMuriwo". Jah Prayzah. 22 July 2019.
  13. ^ "How to Make Feijoada, Brazil's National Dish, Including a Recipe From Emeril Lagasse by Shaylyn Esposito". 2014-06-13.
  14. ^ KHAN, S.H.; AHMAD, N.; JABEEN, N.; CHATTOO, M.A.; HUSSAIN, K. (June 2010). "Biodiversity of kale (Brassica oleracea var. acephala L.) in Kashmir Valley" (PDF). The Asian Journal of Horticulture. 5 (1): 208–210. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  15. ^ Mir, Shakir (13 October 2017). "Kashmiri Haakh". Kashmir Life. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  16. ^ Reshi, Marryam. "Haakh or Collard Greens". Retrieved 4 April 2020.

External linksEdit